Press Release: AMD Reaches Out to
Consumer, Small Business Advocates to Drive Discussion on Improving the
Technology Experience
Posted By
Kathy Smith
Date: January 25, 2002
AMD Forms Global Consumer Advisory Board, Selects Initial
Members.
SUNNYVALE, CA-JANUARY 23, 2002-AMD
(NYSE: AMD) today announced the formation of its Global Consumer Advisory Board
(GCAB) to evaluate and improve the quality of the home and small business
computing technology experience. Leading consumer and small business advocates
from Asia, Europe, North America and South America will identify and seek to
resolve key challenges in computing technology facing home and small business
users.
"Consumers and small businesses have not felt the need to completely embrace
existing technologies despite the tremendous benefits they bring to our
professional and personal lives," said Pat Moorhead, vice president of Customer
Advocacy and chairman of the GCAB. "Through the GCAB, AMD is bringing together
consumer and small business advocates who are passionate about making technology
more relevant to users."
"Consumers often find it very time consuming and extremely confusing to
determine what technology suits their needs," said Ken McEldowney, executive
director of Consumer Action. "I look forward to engaging in a dialogue on
technology issues with AMD and the GCAB members from other parts of the world."
"Technology can have a substantial impact on a small business by increasing
efficiency and profitability. However, it can also be intimidating," said Don
Wilson, president and CEO for the Association of Small Business Development
Centers. "The GCAB will study these issues and work together to develop ideas so
that everyone can take full advantage of the innovation that technology brings."
The GCAB members announced today represent five U. S. members and one Canadian.
AMD will announce representatives from Asia, Europe, Mexico and South America in
the near future.
* Jim Blasingame is the creator and host of the nationally syndicated, weekday
radio/Internet talk show, "The Small Business Advocate," and author of Small
Business Is Like A Bunch Of Bananas. He brings the GCAB a comprehensive
background in small business issues, and an intense passion for small business,
which is evident in his extensive multi-media activity. Fortune Small Business
identified Blasingame as one of the 30 most influential people in America
representing small business, and he is a 2002 nominee for the SBA's Small
Business Journalist of the Year award.
* William Halal is a professor of management at George Washington University and
on the board of directors of the World Future Society. He is an authority on
emerging technology, strategic management and institutional change, a renowned
author and developer of the GW Forecast - an electronic network of global
experts who forecast emerging technology trends. Halal brings an expertise on
future technologies and trends.
* Ken McEldowney is executive director of Consumer Action, a San Francisco-based
consumer advocacy and education membership organization. He can offer the GCAB
consumer perspective on technology solutions and the challenges consumers face
with other industries. Consumer Action has worked on food, insurance, utility,
privacy, toxics, health care, banking and telephone issues for 30 years. He
chairs consumer-focused committees with the California Public Utilities
Commission and the FCC.
* Tricia Parks is the founder and president of Parks Associates, a consulting
firm providing competitor, technology and consumer research to help clients
deliver products and services that improve the quality of their customers'
lives. She brings to the GCAB research-based knowledge of consumers and emerging
technologies. Parks also founded Wiring Americas' Homes, a consortium advocating
for improved wiring capable of handling future digital needs in North American
homes, now under the auspices of the Home Automation Association.
* Barry Wellman is a sociology professor at the University of Toronto, as well
as director of the University's NetLab. Wellman studies social networks,
collaborative work and the integration of the Internet into daily life. Last
year, Wellman was awarded the Outstanding Lifetime Contribution Award by the
Canadian Sociological and Anthropological Association. Wellman has co-edited a
new book, The Internet in Everyday Life, to be published by Blackwell this
summer. He will bring knowledge on technology and its impact on society from his
research.
* Donald Wilson is the president and CEO for the Association of Small Business
Development Centers, which represents the SBDC network delivering nationwide
educational assistance to strengthen small/medium business. Wilson brings a
knowledge of small business needs and a desire to help small businesses succeed.
"The GCAB is part of AMD's ear-to-the-ground customer advocacy initiative," said
Moorhead. "We are committed to providing home and small business consumers with
the best computing technology experience and the ability to make the best
technology purchasing decisions. The GCAB will take our long-standing
appreciation and respect for the customer one step further by putting us
directly in touch with home and small business advocates."
The GCAB is the second customer advocacy initiative announced by AMD in recent
months. In October 2001, AMD announced the True Performance Initiative (TPI),
through which AMD will assist customers in understanding the benefits of PC
performance. TPI also will help define a new, more accurate measure of processor
performance for standard applications.
The GCAB plans to meet four times annually. If consumers or small businesses
have questions or would like to provide information to the GCAB, they can e-mail
amd.gcab@amd.com.
About AMD
AMD is a global supplier of integrated circuits for
the personal and networked computer and communications markets with
manufacturing facilities in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Asia. AMD, a
Fortune 500 and Standard & Poor's 500 company, produces microprocessors, flash
memory devices, and support circuitry for communications and networking
applications. Founded in 1969 and based in Sunnyvale, California, AMD had
revenues of $3.9 billion in 2001. (NYSE: AMD).
AMD on the Web
For more AMD news and product information, please
visit our virtual pressroom at
www.amd.com/news/virtualpress/index.html . Additional press releases are
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www.amd.com/news/news.html.
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PR Contacts
Ward Tisdale
AMD Public Relations
(512) 602-8536
ward.tisdale@amd.com
Brenda Forsythe
AMD Public Relations
(512) 602-8475
brenda.forsythe@amd.com
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